


Dreams

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, I'm Sorry Lance, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Minor Keith/Lance (Voltron), Sad Lance (Voltron), Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2019-01-16 02:25:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12333591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Every night, Lance prays that the dreams will be peaceful, that nothing will happen, but every night, he wakes up shivering, his chest hollow.





	Dreams

**Author's Note:**

  * For [watsonthebox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/watsonthebox/gifts).



> I've been so excited to work on this fic! This is based off a prompt from watsonthebox on Tumblr. They were kind enough to let me develop the idea into a standalone, and I'm very grateful for it. Enjoy!

The nightmares began shortly after Sendak attacked. At first, they were mild, merely causing sleep deprivation and an incurable nausea that settled in the pit of Lance’s stomach, but they soon jolted Lance awake, drenched in sweat and forcing his mouth shut to cut off a strangled scream. The dreams were normally of home, in which everything was perfect, up until Lance was forced to travel to Arus with the rest of his team. The dreams never featured Lance--they were always about his family after hearing of his “death,” his mother being comforted by his older brother. 

Every night, Lance prays that the dreams will be peaceful, that nothing will happen, but every night, he wakes up shivering, his chest hollow.

Weeks pass. Lance persuades Allura to stop using the mind-melding helmets as a bonding exercise, his reasoning being that they’ve already learned how to form Voltron. In truth, he just wants to prevent his horrid dreams from being discovered for as long as possible.

“Lance, you stink,” Hunk says one day when they’re lounging in the kitchen together. “If you don’t take a shower soon, I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to defeat Zarkon single-handedly with that nasty B.O.”

Lance sighs, rubbing his eyes. “I don’t like showers here,” He says quietly. “Not in space.”

“They’re just like the showers on Earth, though,” Hunk tries to reason.

Lance shakes his head. “No,” He says, swallowing the lump in his throat and ignoring the way his eyes begin to sting. “It’s too much like rain.”

Hunk nods slowly, his mouth open ever-so-slightly, as if to silently say that he understands. “I’ll see if there are any baths here,” He says, putting his hand on Lance’s shoulder. 

An hour later, Hunk leads Lance to a pristine washroom with a cream-white bathtub built into the floor. Lance hugs him gratefully and rushes inside, closing the door on Hunk and turning the faucet on. He examines the labels on the bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and various other products that line the tub’s rim neatly. He pops the cap on one of them and sniffs it, and is almost knocked backwards when he recognizes the smell.

It smells like vanilla. It smells like his mother’s warm hugs, like his family’s living room. It smells like Christmas Eve. In short, it smells like home. Lance forces back his tears and smells the bottle one more time before closing the cap and hanging his head, sighing wistfully. 

Lance’s nightmares don’t bother him as much that night, because when he wakes, he smells vanilla on his shirt and drifts back off to sleep drowsily.

The vanilla soap is only a temporary fix. Soon, the nightmares start back up again, this time even more intense, and Lance is starting to forget what his little brother looks like. 

“I promise, when we defeat Zarkon, we’ll get back to Earth. Everything will be okay,” Hunk says, comforting Lance when he’s awakened by a nightmare. All of the paladins now know that Lance has terrible nightmares--all of them have woken up at one point or another to anguished screams of disdain--but none of them know the full extent.

None of them know that in his dreams, Lance can hear his mother crying out for him to come home, shouting that this must be some kind of horrible dream. He can hear his father, locked away in his office, crying silently in the company of a photo of Lance. He can hear Jaime, his breathing rapid as he rips his Garrison application forms into tiny pieces. He can hear Alma, whispering to the stars as she wipes tears away with her sleeves.

Lance just nods, reassuring Hunk that he’s okay, that this type of thing is normal, that he can go back to bed now. Lance sneaks out of his room for a plate of food goo shortly after Hunk departs from his room to earn some well-deserved sleep. Lance is surprised, however, to discover that Keith is also in the kitchen, picking absentmindedly at a relatively full plate of goo.

Lance startles. “Keith,” He greets slowly, praying that his eyes aren’t red. Keith nods in his direction dismissively, and Lance is thankful that the conversation is now apparently over.

Lance silently makes himself a plate of food goo and seats himself in the chair farthest away from Keith. He figures it’s for the best that he distances himself from everyone else until he’s had some time to regain his composure. 

“Hey, I’ve been wondering something for a while,” Keith lets out a breath, refusing to meet Lance’s gaze when he speaks and instead staring at his plate nervously. “Are you… Okay?”

Lance doesn’t answer.

“Because, I mean, we all know you have nightmares, and it’s starting to scare me that nobody does anything about it. Like, you wake up screaming and only Hunk has the guts to go and comfort you. That sounds hypocritical, but… I don’t know, I’m just worried about you. You’ve been acting weird lately.” Keith mumbles his words, so they’re slurred together, but Lance, who is well-versed in understanding mumbled Spanglish, has little trouble deciphering their meaning. 

“I’m fine,” He lies, eating his food goo quickly so he can leave as soon as possible. “There’s not really a cure for nightmares.”

“But…” 

Before Keith can finish, Lance stands, swallowing his last bite of goo and shuffling towards the Altean dishwasher as fast as he can. “I really am fine,” Lance reaffirms, forcing a convincing smile for added effect. “I promise. I’ve just been missing home more than usual. I’ll be back to normal soon.”

Keith nods, unconvinced, and sighs quietly when Lance leaves the room. He thinks that Lance can’t hear him, but he can, and when the doors slide shut, Lance’s shoulders slump. His feet drag as he quietly pads back to his room. 

-

Lance’s nightmares get even worse when Shiro disappears. During the end of each dream, he usually appears, bruised and battered, calling out to Lance, “Why didn’t you try to save me? I knew you weren’t fit to be a paladin.”

Lance can no longer picture a tranquil sea to calm himself down in fear of imagining Shiro accidentally. He tells no one of his new dreams, and as a result, they get even worse. 

After being in space for at least a month or two, Lance has lost his excitement and happy disposition. He can hardly drag himself out of bed. He loathes training, and no matter how much he wants to be a better paladin, he can’t bring himself to pull the trigger of his bayard if it’s not necessary. The rifle reminds him too much of when his father would take him down to the dilapidated shooting range in town and help him become a better sharpshooter. By age ten, he had won every shooting competition he was entered in.

“Steady, Lance,” His father would say quietly behind Lance as he stared down the barrel of his rifle. “Take a deep breath and fire whenever you’re ready.”

And each time, Lance hit his target.

-

“Shiro?” Lance asks softly, walking across black sand and forcing himself away from the tide.

“This is all your fault,” Shiro says, gesturing to his face, where new scars have been formed. His right eye is black, and his skin is stained red with blood. “If you had trained harder, I wouldn’t be missing.”

“No,” Lance says, more to himself than anyone else. “You’re not real.”

“Don’t you see?!” Shiro yells at him. “You’re just dead weight. You’re the weakest link. All you do is drag this team down. You’re not fit to be a paladin.”

“Stop it!” Lance shouts. “Please!”

“When I get back, I’ll make sure we abandon you at the nearest uninhabited planet. You’re a former paladin; you’ll make do, right?”

“Stop it! You’re not real! Just _stop!”_

Lance is awoken by screaming, and to his dismay, the screams are his own. 

-

The Black Lion rejects Lance, but Lance doesn’t give it much thought. He’ll still have Blue, and Blue would never leave him.

Or so he thinks.

When Lance pounds on Blue’s particle barrier, begging for her to open up, she doesn’t even answer him. She just stands there idly, staring at nothing. When Lance paces around her, her eyes don’t follow him, and the only thing Lance can feel is a wave of guilt, courtesy of Blue herself. She wants to keep Lance out, and she’s guilty for it.

After being discovered by Allura, Lance is on the brink of tears, and at this point, he doesn’t care about breaking down in front of his team. He wants his lion, but it seems like his lion doesn’t want him anymore--until the Red Lion roars in its hangar, signalling that it wants Lance to pilot it. It takes an unbelievable amount of convincing from Allura, but Lance eventually works up the guts to enter the Red Lion’s hangar. Red opens up for him as soon as she sees him--Red seems like a girl, Lance decides--and wastes no time in exiting her hangar and locating the rest of the team.

 _This is fine,_ Lance tells himself. _This is for the best. Everything will be back to normal soon._

However, when Allura arrives in the Blue Lion, Lance feels his heart break into pieces. After overcoming the betrayal that he feels deep in the pit of his stomach, he’s forced into an unwanted fit of anger that he decides not to express. Red, however, can sense this, and tries to comfort Lance to the best of her ability. Lance thanks her, figuring that she has a lot of experience with calming anger--after all, _Keith_ pilots her.

“This is fine,” Lance repeats to himself when he tries to sleep that night. “This is for the best. Everything will be back to normal soon.”

-

It seems as if every other day follows the same general plan: get a planet to join the coalition. Of course, Lance is thrilled that Voltron is gaining allies, but he’s bored of acting diplomatic. He just wants to be himself--admittedly, that isn’t much right now, but he’s hoping that soon he’ll be able to express himself more.

“What’s this planet called again?” Lance asks as the Castle-Ship enters yet another planet’s atmosphere. Allura seems more excited than usual, almost as if this planet has something that other planets typically don’t.

“Avax,” Allura answers. “Remember, this planet is unlike any planet we’ve visited before. It thrives off of emotions. Without emotions, it withers away and dies. Feelings are Avax’s form of fuel. Without them, they have nothing. Any negative emotions may jeopardize this diplomatic mission.”

“So think happy thoughts!” Coran adds. 

Lance forces thoughts of his family out of his mind and thinks of things that don’t remind him of home. He tries to focus on some of the acquaintances he’s made on other planets in Voltron’s coalition, but has trouble trying to keep the image of his mother far from his mind. It’s like Allura said--any negative emotion could put the mission in jeopardy.

When the team sets foot on the planet, they’re whisked into a tall, sparkling palace that’s overflowing with servants awaiting them hand and foot. One of the servants ushers the paladins into a hall, where they are finally introduced to Planet Avax’s monarch.

“Greetings, Paladins of Voltron.” Their leader has translucent blue skin and eyes that change colors, almost like a kaleidoscope. “I am Queen Tai’a, and we are overjoyed that you are visiting our humble planet. I am sure that Princess Allura explained to you how our planet works?”

Allura nods. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Queen Tai’a smiles approvingly. “Please, if you don’t mind, partake in our tradition of allowing visitors to broadcast their emotions to our people. I tried to exempt you from the ritual, but my subjects insisted.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” Allura reassures the Queen. She turns to the rest of the team. “You will approach the podium in the center of the room and place your hand on the orb. In doing this, the entire planet will feel your emotions. Not its inhabitants, but the planet itself. I will go first.”

Allura doesn’t wait for anyone to respond. She strides forward towards the podium and places her hand on it without hesitation. The room, which had been relatively dark, lights up. The stark white walls turn a calm, tranquil blue, like the oceans back home. 

“We are well-versed in the practice of deciphering emotions,” Queen Tai’a says to Allura. “I am glad you are calm, Princess. This ensures a good outcome in this situation.”

Keith, wanting to set an example, steps forward and puts his hand on the podium reluctantly. The blue on the walls turns into a light shade of orange, and the room’s temperature drops.

“Red paladin, why are you nervous?” The Queen asks.

Keith looks alarmed, but answers anyway, removing his hand from the podium and stepping to the side. “I’m worried about the alliance,” He says, forcing a smile. “I don’t want anything to go wrong today.”

Lance makes sure to put himself behind Hunk and Pidge, so that he’ll have to go last. He fiddles with his thumbs until that time arrives.

Pidge steps forward and places her hand on the orb calmly. The room regains its warmth, and the walls turn purple.

“You seem to be pondering things,” Tai’a says. “This is to be expected of the Green Paladin.”

Pidge nods, blushing, and steps aside for Hunk. Lance pats his shoulder, and Hunk grins at him before striding forward and laying his hand on the podium. 

The walls turn a soft yellow, and Lance’s worry melts away for a few seconds as he’s surrounded by warmth. 

“You are happy,” The Queen notes. “This is excellent,” She smiles. Hunk nods, offers her a smile, and steps aside.

Lance takes a deep breath and steps forward. He lifts his shaking hand and slowly lowers it onto the orb, forcing himself to think happy thoughts, _please, think happy thoughts._ But his efforts are fruitless, for the only thing on his mind is his dear, sweet mother and his loving siblings.

His hand barely grazes the orb when the room is suddenly bathed in dark blue. The lights lining the walls are so bright that some of them burst, sending shards of blue-tinted glass into the air. Lance can hear the hum of energy in the air. He puts his hand down further, and is suddenly thrown backwards. His armor digs into his shoulder painfully, and Pidge rushes to his side to help him up.

“Wow, Lance,” Hunk says, raising an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you were _that_ excited for the Avaxians to join the coalition.”

Queen Tai’a turns to face Lance, her face settled into a grim frown. Lance tries very hard not to cower.

“His feelings are not those of elation, Yellow One,” She says. “They are feelings of anguish. I believe this must the first time in a millennia that emotions this strong have been felt.”

The room is silent, the only sound being the hum of the energy still in the room.

“...Lance?” Pidge asks softly, lifting her hand to grasp Lance’s arm gently. Lance shakes his head, unable to answer.

“There’s some mistake,” He begins, but the Queen shakes her head.

“I am afraid not, Blue Paladin.”

Lance becomes hyper-aware of the way his team is staring at him, their mouths agape.

“Please, step forward and try again. I am curious to see what happens when you let your hand rest completely on the sphere,” Tai’a says, beckoning him towards the podium once more. Lance swallows and nods, stepping forward shakily. 

“Whatever you do, do not let go.” The Queen is staring at him as if he’s doing the most dangerous thing in the world, and it’s making Lance uncomfortable. He glances back at Pidge, who seems to be the only one that isn’t still shell-shocked. She offers him an encouraging nod and a smile--they don’t do much, however. Lance purses his lips and steps forward.

Lance reaches the podium and slowly lowers his hand completely onto the orb. Instantly, the walls turn black. The temperature drops, and Lance feels something pushing him back. He hears a loud whooshing noise, and suddenly, Lance flies backward towards the wall and hits it with a loud _crack._

“Lance!” 

Once again, Pidge all-but-sprints to his side, but Lance is already too delirious from the pain that shoots up his spine to answer any actual questions.

“Ow,” He mumbles, and Pidge shakes his shoulders to get his attention. She’s shouting at him, but he can’t hear her exact words.

“M’fine,” Lance mumbles. “Hurts, though.”

“His back--” Pidge shouts to the others, who are now crowded around Lance. He thinks that the Queen is calling for an escort back to the Castle, but he can’t hear very well. “He broke his back.”

Lance’s numbing shock abandons him, and suddenly, the reality sets in. The pain in his back increases tenfold, and Lance lets out a choked yell.

“Jesus!” He bites down on his lip harder than he means to and accidentally draws blood. “Oh, my god, this is worse than childbirth!”

“You’ve never even given birth!” Pidge slaps him, forcing Lance to stay awake. He wants to pass out from the pain and exhaustion, but he knows that it’ll be even harder to get him out of the healing pod if he goes unconscious. They learned that the hard way when Lance was injured by Sendak.

“Trust me, I’ve seen more births than you ever will,” Lance grunts out. “Can somebody please hit me upside the head?” He looks at Keith desperately. “Please?”

“Hold on, buddy,” Hunk says soothingly. “We’re gonna get you back to the Castle soon.”

Lance feels the pain creep even further up his spine. It inches into his neck, then his head. Black spots begin to dance in his eyes. “This is all my fault,” Lance slurs. “Shouldn’t’ve thought of home.”

“Lance, no--” Pidge starts, but Lance’s head falls backward as unconsciousness pulls him under the water, drowning him in the vast, empty black water. 

-

When Lance wakes, an unsettling wave of cold washes over him, and falls forward into something very real and very sturdy.

“Lance!” Someone says excitedly. Lance is much too disoriented to recognize the voice’s owner. He pulls away from whatever seems to have braced him and looks up.

Instantly, he is met with the sight of dark, tired eyes built on smooth skin.

“Lance,” Keith says. “You okay?”

Lance nods, his hands making their way to his lower back, which cracks satisfyingly. “How long was I in there?”

“Two days,” Pidge supplies. “Keith was about to kill that queen.”

Keith flushes and shifts uncomfortably. “If you’re feeling up to it, we need to talk about what happened. All of us.”

Lance swallows thickly and forces himself to nod. “Yeah. I was expecting that.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Not right now!” Allura interrupts. “First, you must eat. I fear that if we talk this out now, you won’t have much of an appetite.”

Lance nods, grateful that Allura has given him an excuse to postpone the team meeting. He makes his way to the kitchen, and the team trails after him. Hunk insists on piling his plate high with food goo, and after a few bites, he pushes the plate away.

“All right,” He says. “What do you want to know?”

“Was it true?” Hunk asks. “Were… Were you really feeling _anguish?_

Lance nods. 

“But… Why?” Pidge sits down beside him and puts a hand on his arm comfortingly. 

Lance sighs. “I miss my family.”

When no one answers, Lance continues, “Because of that, I have nightmares. I know you know about them, but they’re much worse than you think.”

“What are they…” Keith swallows. “What’re they about?”

“Usually, they’re about my family hearing of my disappearance and mourning me. I can’t stand to see them like that, even if it’s just a dream. That’s why I wake up screaming most of the time. But lately,” Lance picks at his cuticles nervously. “Lately, they’ve been about Shiro. Not _our_ Shiro, but some corrupted Shiro that tells me I’m dead weight for the team. Stuff like that.”

“You’re not--” Pidge starts, but Lance shakes his head.

“There’s more.”

Lance takes a deep breath, preparing himself to speak about the most taxing part of his nightmares. The moments in his dreams that he can’t even think of, for each time he does, he feels like bursting into tears. 

He says two words before his voice stops working and his eyes begin to sting.

“The rain,” Lance says hoarsely, his eyes already glassy. He takes a deep breath, trying not to blink to prevent tears from falling. “The ocean.”

Hunk swears and wraps his arms around Lance comfortingly. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He asks softly, trying not to let the others hear.

Lance shrugs. “There’s more. There’s so much more, but I can’t say it. Not now, at least.”

“Maybe you should rest, buddy,” Hunk says. Lance doesn’t have a chance to answer before Hunk has lifted him up into the air bridal-style and has whisked him away.

“Hey, Lance?” Keith asks. Hunk stops and turns so that Lance can face Keith. “Uh, don’t… Don’t hesitate to talk to one of us. We’re here for you if you need us.”

Lance smiles, feeling content as Hunk turns and carries him to his room. After tucking him into bed, Hunk stands in the doorway. “Do you need anything?”

Lance swallows. “Could you stay? I don’t know how bad my nightmares will be, considering…”

Hunk nods, and without another word crawls into bed next to Lance. “Thanks, Hunk. You’re too good to me.”

Hunk doesn’t answer, but instead gives Lance a comforting hug that puts him to sleep instantly.

-

Iverson stands uncouthly on the concrete doorstep of the McClain family home. He rings the doorbell and is greeted with the sound of barking, followed by a tired, _”Coming!_

The door swings open, revealing Rosa McClain, a glass bowl of dough in her hands. An excited dalmatian pup excitedly circles her feet, begging to be freed so that it can greet the stranger at the door. “How can I help you?” Rosa asks. Her voice is heavily accented, and Iverson takes a few seconds to process her words. “You are a commander at my son’s school, correct? Is he okay?”

“Ma’am, this is about your son,” Iverson nods, confirming Rosa’s suspicions. “I’m sorry to inform you that Lance McClain is missing and presumed dead by the Galaxy Garrison.”

The bowl in Rosa’s hands falls to the ground and shatters into a thousand jagged shards. Iverson steps back and removes his hat. “No,” She says softly. Her face morphs into three expressions at once: fury, disbelief, and anguish. “You!” She says accusingly. “You lost him. You say he’s dead?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

 _”Then it’s all your fault,”_ Rosa hisses. “Leave this place. You are not welcome here.”

The door slams in Iverson’s face, and he turns to leave just as a despairing sob sounds on the other side of the door. 

“Mama, what is it?” A voice shouts. 

“Mom?” Another says. Iverson bows his head and sighs as the McClain family is broken apart. 

_”He’s gone!”_ Rosa shrieks over the sound of Iverson’s footsteps. “Lance is gone!”

-

Lance wakes with a start, his breathing rapid. He feels his cheeks and is disappointed, yet not surprised, to find that he’s been crying. Hunk stirs and opens his eyes to see Lance’s shaking form. 

“Lance?”

“He told them I was dead,” Lance says softly, his breathing becoming short and rapid. “I’m dead. They think I’m dead.”

“Lance,” Hunk says calmingly, wrapping his arms around Lance. “I’m sure they’re still looking for us. We’ll be home soon. Our families haven’t forgotten us yet.”

“Yeah,” Lance sighs, wiping fresh tears from his eyes. “You’re right.” He falls backward and lets his back hit his mattress. “They’re still looking for us.”

“And they won’t stop,” Hunk chimes. 

Lance falls back asleep and dreams of nothing at all.

-

Things begin to get better. The team has established what they formally call the “Nightmare Shift,” something established to help Lance with his nightmares. Coran has installed a cot on the other side of Lance’s room, and each night, someone sleeps in it and helps Lance with his nightmares. Lance feels happier, and his nightmares aren’t nearly as bad anymore. However, he still occasionally finds himself drenched in sweat, screaming out uselessly.

Shiro is found, and Lance returns to piloting Blue, who feels extremely guilty about “abandoning her cub.” Lance is elated to be able to speak with his lion again. 

Lance forms a new relationship. It’s blind, but so is love, and really, he feels like holding Keith’s hand every second of the day.

Matt has been found and has joined Team Voltron, meaning the team is free to return to Earth whenever Lotor is defeated.

Best of all, Voltron is on the verge of defeating Lotor. They just have to figure out his location, and they’ll be able to snuff him out.

Things are looking better, and Lance is glad.

-

“Matt, how’re we doing with the prisoners?”

“All of Lotor’s generals have been imprisoned. Your only objective now is to find and eliminate Prince Lotor,” Matt relays. 

“I have a visual on Lotor! I’m too far away from you guys to form Voltron, though!” Pidge says over the comms. “Do I fire?”

There’s a pregnant pause before anyone answers.

“Fire at will,” Allura says.

The Green Lion fires a beam of energy at a small cruiser, which attempts to dodge the attack. Unable to escape, Lotor’s pod explodes into a pile of floating debris. 

Lance isn’t sure that his vocal cords will work. He tries to speak, but can’t, in fear of bursting into tears.

Pidge’s face appears on Lance’s screen. “Target eliminated. Let’s go home.”

The comm line explodes into a chorus of ecstatic cheering. Lance doesn’t join the cheering, and instead sniffs and wipes newly-formed tears out of his eyes. 

“Home,” He says quietly. “Guys, we’re going home!”

“Lance!” Hunk shouts. “We’re going home!”

Lance’s body shakes with excitement. “Oh, my god. We’re going home. Allura! Open a wormhole. I never want to see a star again.”

-

Lance wastes no time in landing his lion. The five lions have all gone their separate ways for now, but are set to reconvene soon. Thankfully, Lance has had Pidge install an invisibility device on Blue, so he has no trouble landing in an abandoned field near his home. He exits his lion, and only then does he see something obstructing his view of what’s in front of him

“Rain,” He whispers to himself. His eyes water. “It’s rain.”

Lance turns on his comm lines. “Guys,” Lance cries. “It’s raining.”

“How have you already landed?” Pidge complains. “I’m happy for you, man. Go hug your family.”

Lance nods, aware that Pidge can’t exactly see him, and turns off his comms. He begins to run away from the field and into the crowded streets of his hometown. Past the street vendors. Along the ocean. 

Lance opens a private line with Keith, who has decided to stay at the Castle, seeing as he has no one back on Earth. “Keith?”

“Yeah?”

“Love you. I’m going in.”

Keith responds without missing a beat. “Love you, too. Be safe. Give your mom a hug for me.”

Lance stops running when he reaches a big wooden house decorated with lawn flamingos and steps up to the concrete doorstep. He rings the doorbell and takes off his helmet, wiping his tears as well as the rain off his visor before putting it back on.

The door swings open, and Lance melts.

“Lance,” His mother whispers. “Lance, my baby boy, Lance…”

Lance doesn’t answer, and instead flings himself into her arms. “I’m sorry,” He sobs. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to leave.”

“Mom, who’s at the door?” Lance hears a voice ask. “...Mom?”

Lance pulls away from his mother and barrels towards his brother. “Jaime,” He breathes. “It’s me. It’s Lance.”

“Lance?” Jaime asks softly. “Why are you wearing armor? Why do you have scars?”

“I’ll explain it later. I missed you guys more than you’ll ever know.” Lance hugs his brother even harder. His mother hugs him from behind, and Lance’s legs feel like jelly. 

“Welcome home, Lance,” Rosa says warmly, wiping tears from her eyes before she ushers Lance to his room, forces him out of his armor, and tucks him into bed. She plants a kiss on his forehead and whispers, “Goodnight, mijo. Sleep well.”

As his mother exits his childhood room. Lance can smell vanilla wafting in the air. His eyelids droop, and the only thing he can think of is how happy he is as he stares at his armor in the corner. He stands and grabs his helmet, setting it on his nightstand for easy access. Lance opens his comm line. 

“I made it, guys,” Lance announces, his voice watery. “I’m home.”

“Yeah, we know,” Keith says. Lance can hear the smile in his voice. “You forgot to turn your comms off, so we heard everything.”

“It was adorable. I’m so happy that you guys are reunited,” Hunk says. “I totally didn’t cry.”

“Me? Crying?” Pidge asks. “No way. Crying is for saps.”

“She was sobbing!” Matt says, his voice faint. “Ow!”

“Me?” Pidge asks slyly. “Hurting my brother? Impossible. I love him too much-- _ow!_ God, Matt!”

Lance smiles. “G’night, guys,” He says softly. 

“Night, loser!” Pidge says.

“Sleep well, man.” Hunk’s voice is wobbly, and it makes Lance want to give him a huge hug. 

“Night, Lance,” Shiro says. “Get some rest. We’ve got to go back up for a briefing from Allura soon.”

“Night, Lance. Love you.”

Lance melts for the hundredth time this week. “Love you, too.”

“Shiro! They’re being gross again!” Matt complains. 

Lance smiles and turns off his comms. He rolls over in bed and closes his eyes, content that this isn’t a dream.

And for the first time in over a year, Lance sleeps soundly, dreaming of rain, warmth, and family.


End file.
